Managing across culture - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Being the Management Consultant for the telecommunications company which is planning to take its business to the international level and market; it becomes very important to make a thorough study about the available literatures on the different challenges that a company faces on a foreign soil and make recommendations accordingly. During the initial study, the team has found a number of possible challenges that could pose a threat to the smooth internationalisation of the company. Among the several challenges “culture shock and poor adjustment” seems to have the greater potential for disturbing the smooth internationalisation of the company. The first part or Part One of this research paper discusses the different available literatures and their observations. 1.2: Definition of “Culture” According to Adler (2008) culture can be defined as an integrated system of behavior among the human beings which takes into consideration the thoughts, beliefs, languages, communications, customs and values, mannerisms of ethnic, religious, racial or social groups of people and the ability of those very people in conveying the same attitude their succeeding generations. Thus, a lot of elements joins together to form a specific culture for a group of people. From the very elements, it could be understood that culture is not a day’s process or a matter of a few months but instead culmination of habits and attitudes over a prolonged period of time and as result of multiple behavioral elements or factors (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1998). 1.3: Relation between Culture and Working Attitude According to the study and observations made by Berry, et al (2002) a human being is highly influenced by the culture to which he or she has been raised up in. As observed by Browaeys and Price (2008), culture is a system of behavior consisting of varied elements that shapes up their life and other activities associated with their lives. The culture of an individual affects the psychology, that is, the thought process. The psychology in turn decides the behavior, attitude and goal of an individual’s life, the likes and dislikes, and even most importantly, their working attitude. The findings of Buchanan and Huczynski (2004) in their study indicate this very fact. An individual is highly influenced by the culture to which he or she belongs. It is so because it impacts an individual from a very tender age, during the very basic years of an individual when one’s beliefs, emotions, outlook and attitude is at the nascent stage. Culture moulds the attitude of an individual at every stage, when an individual forms their attitudes towards their family, education and institutional life, their personal circles, and their attitude towards work. Culture has a greater role to play in shaping the attitude towards work of an individual. Burnes (2000) observe that different cultural factors have been influencing the communication skills and practices of the individuals in the workplace and working atmosphere for a long time. The perception of work and work pressure is also dependent on an individual’s attitude towards work. For instance, one who has been surrounded by a strong working culture will be highly motivated to work hard, turn the most impossible task into reality, the individual will not give up in any case. On the other hand an individual who has been experiencing a lethargic working culture w ...Download file to see next pagesRead More